Most would consider it a blessing when tens of thousands of seagulls decide to
move on from their area.

But the disappearance of just such a flock from part of the Cumbrian coast has caused consternation, with pleas being made for its return.

The birds have vanished from an oyster farm – which supplies the Loch Fyne restaurant chain – where they were once a welcome feature, as their droppings are rich in phosphate and nitrate and encourage the growth of algae, upon which the shellfish feed.

Following the closure of a nearby landfill site – where the birds fed – the flock gradually moved on, leaving the oyster farm with an estimated additional £1,000 bill per week, to pay for nutrients once provided for free by the gulls.

The birds have relocated to nearby Barrow, where they are a much less welcome presence, and where there have been calls for a cull to reduce numbers.

Kelsey Thompson, managing director of the Seasalters farm, in the South Walney nature reserve, said: “We would welcome the birds back. If you know the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds, that was what it was like when we opened our door. There were tens of thousands of pairs and we had to go out in hard hats and they would divebomb you. We got a dog to keep them out of our compound.”

Unfortunately for the farm and the inhabitants of Barrow, there does not seem to be any way to persuade the birds to return to their former haunt.

Although attempts are being made to protect the remaining gulls near the oyster farm – by installing electric fences to protect their nests from predators – Gemma Wren, a warden at the nature reserve, said there was nothing that could be done to bring seagulls back.

She added: “The reason they’re in town is because there’s a ready source of food and they’ll instinctively go where there’s food and go back to where they’ve had success.”